Assisted drills (bands, cable, dumbbells, feet supported) build the strength for the planche and levers, but none of them use the muscles the way the real skill does. So split the work: drills for strength, and part of every session in the actual position (leans, tucks, band-assisted holds of the real shape). For the planche, balance and your body's proportions matter too, so don't judge your timeline against someone built differently.
P Evidence: promising. Good studies, but small or few. Use it and keep checking.
Sources
every planche conditioning drill tested recruited the muscles differently from the real planche (Rosaci et al. 2025, 7 elite ring gymnasts, 🟡) · the same for swallow drills (Bernasconi et al. 2009, 🟡) · general strength explained up to 85% of a front-lever-type hold but at most 59% of the planche (Schärer et al. 2021, 19 elite gymnasts, 🟡) · body type changes how hard the planche is to balance (a 2023 simulation, 🟠) · isometric strength is specific to the trained angle (Oranchuk et al. 2019, systematic review, 🟢).
Not medical, legal or financial advice.